Is Your Dog Drinking Metallic Poison Instead Of Water? New Study Rings Alarm Bells

You know how your mom always told you to drink “clean water” or you’ll fall sick? Our pets might need the same lecture... urgently. A new pilot study from the Dog Aging Project (DAP) in the US has found that all the drinking water samples they tested from dogs living in non-municipal homes (like those using private wells) contained metals (some in dangerously high amounts).

Researchers reached out to 200 dog owners across 10 US states. Most responded: 178 sent their samples back. A total of 178 of the 200 (89.0%) sample kits sent were returned by dog owners. In seven cases, kits were lost in the mail either on the way to participants or after they had been sent back to our lab for analysis. In two cases, dogs had passed away before sampling occurred and the owners opted out of testing after the sampling kit had been deployed.

They tested for the presence of 28 metals in dogs’ drinking water, including eight (8) heavy metals that have maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and five (5) heavy metals that have EPA health guidance levels. The eight metals with MCLs are known to cause chronic health issues in humans after long-term ingestion.

There were 126 instances when an analyte (arsenic, lead, copper, sodium, strontium, nickel, or vanadium) was above the EPA MCL or health guidance level. They further identified potential association between the presence of titanium and chromium, and occurrence of a known health condition in dogs.

This isn’t just about pets; dogs in most homes drink the same water as their humans. If your pet’s water is contaminated, you might be drinking the same thing. Right now, municipal water supplies in cities are regularly tested. But rural and suburban well water? Not so much. And that’s where the danger is hiding.

The scientists say they’re planning a bigger study to find out exactly where this contamination is coming from, and how it affects long-term health. Until then, it’s time to check what’s really in your dog’s water bowl. Because in this story, man’s best friend might also be his early warning system.

Source:

https://journals.plos.org/water/article?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000296

Read more:

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3. Are Our Dogs Feeling What We Feel? The Connection Between Human and Canine Stress